Replacing the Head Gasket on the Chrysler 2.0 Liter Engine

by Gene ("neonexpres")

Introductions by the editor

The Neon head gasket seems to typically last about 60,000 miles, at
least for 1995-97 models. Calling Chrysler will usually yield a new
head gasket for $100 at most, assuming you have less than 100,000 miles
on your car (call 800 992 1997). The new head gasket design is better,
we are told, and not likely to fail quite so quickly. Symptoms: oil in
the antifreeze, oil on the engine, antifreeze in the oil. (Note that a
leaking valve cover gasket can also spill oil onto the engine, though
this is much less common). Dealers are also empowered to do this for
free but most will not, because they can charge you much more
than they can charge Chrysler.

Chrysler did introduce a revised head gasket, a
metal-layered-sandwhich design. It seems far superior.

Gene's Neon had 170,030 miles as of June 2001. Things that broke in
that time:

ABS Front Wheel Sensor - Warranty.

Return Spring in Turn Signal Lever - Out of Warranty.

Internal Spring in E-Brake - Out of Warranty.

Blown Head Gasket - Out of Warranty.

Gene's instructions

I'm writing this down from memory. I haven't done this for almost a
year. Not all these steps have to be done in this order.

Before starting, make sure you have the following:

Torque Specs - either Factory Manual or equivalent

Set of Proper Tools:

Torque Wrench

Puller to remove crank damper

Good set of metric wrenches, ratchets, and sockets

Jackstands

Floorjack

Block of wood

Dealership MLS (metal-layered sandwich) head gasket kit

Optional, but Highly Recommended if car is near 100k miles:

Waterpump and gasket

Timing belt

Timing belt tensioner

Thermostat and gasket

New set of headbolts

You might need another set of exhaust bolts and gasket.

Before actually proceeding with the work, it might be wise to do the
following:

Jack the right front side of the car.

Support car with jackstands.

Remove the right front tire.

Remove the inner wheelwell cover.

Remove the crankbolt. If too difficult, spray with some
penetrationg oil first, then let sit.

After removing the crankbolt, spray the area vigorously with
penetrating oil.

Spray other areas that will need removal, including exhaust
manifold bolts.

Unbolt exhaust from exhaust manifold. [Beth Boose wrote: "do not
unbolt exhaust from head- after everything else is removed, place a
jack (with a block of wood on top) beneath the catalytic converter and
slowly jack the cat up, this will pop head free- no need to pry the
head up. Then unbolt the exhaust from the cat - it's easier to remove
the exhaust bolts with the head off the car.]

I might have left a few things out, but you basically remove
everything and kep track of where it all goes. I take pictures. I have
a digital camera, but a Polaroid will do.

Now we start getting to the fun part:

Jack the right side of car til the tire is off the ground and
support it.

Remove the front tire.

If you replaced the engine cover, remove it again.

Loosen air conditioning compressor, then remove belt.

Remove power steering pump/belt if applicabe.

Remove crank bolt.

Using the puller, remove the crank damper/pulley.

Removing this can be a real pain. Fortunately for me, mine came
off easily. We had one that was very difficult at first. We actually
broke one pulley. We then spayed it heavily with some PB Blast (there
are other penetrating oils available) and let it sit overnight.
Probably wouldn't hurt to hit the crank damper/pulley with a rubber
mallet to help the oil penetrate. Other people have used a torch to
heat up the pulley. There is a puller specific for the Chrysler
2.0/2.4. This
is the one SnapOn sells.

Remove front timing belt cover.

Place floor jack with wooden block under the oil pan. Raise jack
til block touches the pan. You can use the floorjack to raise/lower
motor to help with clearances.

Unbolt/remove engine mount.

Rotate the crank until the timing marks on the gears line up with
the cover.

Remove tensioner.

Remove timing belt.

remove timing gear from head/camshaft.

Remove rear timing cover - if you plan on changing the water
pump.

Now, since so far, we have done all the procedures to remove a
timing belt, it would make sense to use a new belt, so we don't have to
do the labor twice when unnecessary. The timing belt's recommended
change interval is 105,000 miles. I changed mine at 127,000 miles when
I did my head gasket.

On another note, you have to go through these procedures to get to
the water pump. Usually, they would charge another 1/2 hour labor to do
the change the water pump. A water pump's life expectancy is not much
greater than 100,000 miles.

Some say you should remove the cam from the head. If you want to
examine the cam lobes and actuators, you can remove the cam. I didn't
when I did mine. If you have a DOHC motor, you need to remove the cams
to have adequate clearance to reach and remove the headbolts.

Remove thermostat housing.

Remove headbolts.

Loosen the head from the block by rocking and careful use of a
prybar.

Lift the head with the exhaust manifold and remove from the car.

Clean all surfaces - block, head, intake ports.

Check surfaces for warpage - check specs in service manual.

The assembly is pretty much the reverse of disassembly. A few notes:

Use new head bolts if you are worried or the originals are
stretched. (Some people recommend simply always using new head
bolts since they do not cost very much.)

Make sure you tighten the bolts to specs in the correct order.
Refer to the manual.

Replace the rubber grommets in the valve cover.

Replace the tensioner with a new one. It might not be necessary.
I have 170k miles on mine. But a friend of mine, his Breeze's tensioner
broke about 3k miles after his headgasket replacement. So, you might
want to be safe than sorry. (Editor's note: if you use the old one,
make sure you reset it.)

View of front of motor with crank damper:

View of motor front with the front motor mount removed:

View of front of motor without crank damper and rear timing cover:

View of enginebay with the valve cover off:

View of motor from top. if you look where the orange stuff is, this
is where the 2.0/2.4L motors tend to pour oil:

View of motor from top with the MLS gasket:

View of head removed from car. Notice the rust stains in the
combustion chamber. This is due to the coolant leaking into the piston
area:

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